The Ultimate Sweater Book

Happy Friday, lovely knitters!

I’m never secretive about the fact that I’m writing a book, but it still gives me such a thrill to finally open up and share the details with you.

We’re getting close to the release date for this guy:

The book’s publish date is October 17, 2018 – but since you can pre-order now, I thought it was a good time to let you know a little more about it – and what you can expect if you purchase it.

Why This Book

This is my fourth book on sweaters, and at this point it’s pretty fair to ask why I wanted to write another sweater book!

My Ultimate Sweater Book is designed to be a comprehensive, everything-you-need-to-know reference for designing and modifying sweater patterns. Need some detail about fibers and fabric? Drop-shoulder formulas? Modifying an hourglass pattern into an a-line one? Adding a pocket? Whatever else you might be thinking of?

I’ve got you covered.

I tried to make this book helpful no matter where you’re coming from in your sweater knitting. If you’re just a beginner, and want concise answers to your immediate questions – look ’em up in the index and get going! But the book will grow with you as your skills advance, too.

And, if you’re already advanced and have been wondering how to draft that set-in sleeve cap? I’ve finally written a book just for you, too:

If you’ve already got some of my other books and want to know how they compare, here’s a short summary of the kinds of questions each of my books answers:

Knit to Flatter: Talks about clothing and visuals. Wonder why you like V-necks but hate scoops? The basics of manipulating body shape with clothes? This is the book.

Knit Wear Love: Kind of like CustomFit before CustomFit. It’s a giant book of mix-and-match options for any yarn you might happen to have on hand.

You Can Knit That: Takes a basic, 10,000-foot view of successful sweaters, of all major varieties. Great for beginners, and also for experienced knitters who may not have thought holistically about sweaters.

Ultimate Sweater Book: When you’re wondering how to do any kind of off-roading or designing in your garments, this book will give you clear answers and guidance.

And, of course, all of the books have garments. This one is no exception, and I’ll talk about them more below. The Ultimate Sweater Book is organized into four major sections.

Part I: The Basics.

I start the book off with sweater basics: Those unadorned, wear-with-everything garments that I think we knitters often overlook.

The first chapter is all foundational – measurements, ease, swatching, and some basic formulas.

Then, I devote an entire chapter to teaching you how to draft your own patterns from scratch. For Drop Shoulder, Raglan, Yoke, and Set-in Sleeve patterns, there’s all the math you’ll need to write your own perfect pattern.

Not really down with that much math at this point in your knitterly life? I’ve also included 12-size, 3-gauge cardigan and pullover patterns for each of the construction styles.

These basic garment patterns work well on their own – they were the models’ favorites, actually! But they also make great starting points. Throughout the book, I’ve included 4 sweater “Recipes” – sweaters that started with the basic patterns from these chapters, with some added twists.

Part 2: Adjustments.

This portion of the book goes into the nitty-gritty of pattern adjustments. Whereas the math in Part 1 of the book lets you draft the construction-specific numbers for any sweater, Part 2 tackles the rest.

This includes choosing a size if you’re working from a traditional pattern, but also things like:

The different shapes your sweater body can have, when you might want them, and how to work the shaping;

The different shapes and lengths your sweater’s sleeve can have, and how to make them happen;

How to work all of the different standard neck shapes.

Part 2 is a short section of the book, but I suspect it will be one of your most-often-used, as well.

Part 3: Embellishments.

Is it bad for me to admit that I think this is the fun bit?! Part 3 goes into all of the ways we can have fun with our sweaters as we move them beyond a basic garment.

From fabrics and stitch patterning, to shapings and edge trims, to closures and pockets, you’ve got a clear & quick reference in your fingertips.

This is also the part of the book where I offer up the sweater “Recipes” I discussed above. Here’s my favorite, the Penobscot Pullover:

I had a lot of fun coming up with 4 variations on basic sweaters, I hope you’ll like them too!

Part 4: Garments.

Because of course there are garment patterns, too!

Sometimes it’s really hard to take a bunch of text and turn it into sweater ideas, after all. So I’ve gotten you started with 8 gorgeous designs, photographed at the beautiful Sebasco Harbor Resort by the talented Burcu Avsar.

Here are some peeks of these fully-standalone patterns:

Purchasing

All in all, there are 20 garments, 28 patterns, and a ton of information to help every aspect of your sweater knitting in this 192-page book. I’m so so so excited to share it with you.

Or, you can buy a signed copy of The Ultimate Sweater Book directly from me – here in my shop. Since the book doesn’t arrive till October 17, I’m just taking pre-orders – but I’ll sign and personalize each and every one, the moment they arrive on my doorstep.